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Often, when I am searching online for content to repost to Semafores’ social media feeds I find articles offering advice to help family caregivers. Sometimes it comes from professional caregivers or experts in the field, other times from family caregivers passing on the wisdom of their experience to others. Many offer advice on how to care for elderly relatives, others on caring for children with medical issues. Regardless of the point of view of the author or her intended audience much of the advice is the same. A few simple principles are repeated in many variations.

Amy cautiously eyes the room trying to give the impression of looking for anyone about to ask a question. In reality she doesn’t want to be caught with her guard down looking at her phone. Barely glancing down at her lap she opens her Curi™ app, glides to a screen with hers and Bill’s picture across the top, and taps on Bill’s image. Silently in the background an exchange is taking place. Curi™ allows, among other things, for an adult to manage the caregiving for one or more children. To indicate which adult is currently in charge a “C” in a red circle had been attached to Amy’s picture. By tapping the picture of Bill she was asking Curi™ to notify him that she wanted him to become the caregiver for Sarah and handle the next task.

The day begins at 5:30am in the Adams household. Bill rises at the sound of the alarm clock and today heads straight for the shower. His schedule is fairly packed and he is anxious to get started. His wife, Amy, follows a quarter of an hour later. They sit down together at the kitchen table and go over their schedules together over a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee. Bill takes out his iphone and Amy her Android. Bill chuckles quietly to himself at how this makes them a ‘mixed’ couple.